“Today’s tied vote (20-20) in the Florida Senate on the ‘Parent Empowerment Bill’ (SB 862) represents a victory for powerful special interests, and a blow to the thousands of parents and children trapped in failing public schools that the high-priced lobbyists who engineered today’s vote would never send their own children to.

“A spokesperson, who claims to speak for Florida parents through the National Education Association (NEA) funded group, ‘Parents Across America’ just tweeted: ‘Hallelujah. Trigger defeated in FL. The sun just came out in Tallahassee! We have our lives back.’ It is worth noting this spokesperson has no children in a Florida public school, let alone a failing public school.

“As this spokesperson tweets about getting her life back, there are tens of thousands of parents with children trapped in failing schools grappling with the reality that they now have no way out.

“This isn’t about a victory for lobbyists at NEA-funded faux groups. It’s about giving parents power over the educational destiny of their own children. In California, we have recently seen at 24th Street Elementary School how empowered parents can – and will – make wise decisions for their children. One day this will also be true in Florida.”